Driving mechanism.



P. J. MUELLER.

DRIVING MEGHANISM.

APPLIUATION FILED 111111.31, 1911.

1,032,696. Patented July-16,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WTNESSES [N VENT OR Allarmfy coLuMlA PLANQGRAPM co.,wAsH|NGToN. n. c,

P.' J. MUELLER. DRIVING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 31, 1911.

l ,032,696, Patented July 16, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lV/ 7 NESSES Alformj/ PETER J'. MUELLER, OF MAQUOKETA, IOWA.

DRIVING MECHANISIVI.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1912..

Application led August 31, 1911. Serial No. 647,019.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itv known that l, PETER J. lNlUnLLnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Maquoketa, in the county of Jackson and State of lowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Driving Mechanism, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The mechanism which is the subject of the present invention is designedmore particularly for use-in connection with cream separators which aredriven by internalcombustion engines, although it is not limited to suchuse.

It is the object of the invention to provide an improved yieldabledriving mechanism in order to protect the separator or other drivenelement from jerks and irregularities in the speed of the engine.

Another object is to provide a mechanism which does not stop the drivenelement suddenly when the engine stops, but which allows said element torun free and slow down to a gradual stop.

The invention also has for its object to provide in a mechanism of thekind stated a novel construction and arrangement of parts to behereinafter described and claimed.

ln order that the invent-ion may be better understood, reference is hadto the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of themechanism. Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views on the lines 22 and 8*?) ofFig. 1. Figs. 4 and 5 are elevations of certain details to behereinafter described. Fig. 6 is an elevation of a crank handle adaptedto be connected to the driven member.

Referring specifically to the drawing, 10 denotes a drive shaft which issupported in any suitable manner and is connected to the engine, whichlatter has not been shown as it fo-rms no part of the present invention.To the shaft 10 is made fast, by a set screw or other suitablemeans 11,a sleeve 12 on which is loosely mounted the driven meinber, said memberbeing a pulley 13 which is belted to the separator or other element (notshown) to be driven. The sleeve 12 is formed with a collar 14 which isloosely encircled by a ring 15, said collar and ring being connected bya pawl-and-ratchet. The pawls are rollers 16 which seat in recesses 17in the periphery of the collar, and are adapted to be forced outward andjammed against the inner periphery of the ring by the inclined walls ofthe recesses, the inclination of said walls being such that a drivingconnection between the collar and ring is had when the former isrotating in one direction. ln case of reversal or stoppage of thecollar, the ring is disconnected and runs idle. The outer ends of therecess are closed, and the ring has a continuous flange 1S extendinginward from its inner periphery, between which flange and the closedends of the recesses t-he rollers 1G are located, whereby they areprevented from slipping out of the recesses endwise. Suitable means arealso provided to prevent endwise separation of the collar and ring.

The inner periphery of the rim of the pulley 13 has a clutch surfacewhich is engageable at diametrically opposite points by clutch memberscomprising wood or fiber shoes 19 carried by blocks 20, said shoes beingremovable so that they may be renewed when worn. The blocks 2O arepivotally connected at one of their ends, as indicated at 21, to theextremities of arms 22 extending from a ring` 23 which loosely encirclesthe hub 241 of the pulley 13. rlhe free ends of the blocks 20 areengaged by a device which presses the shoes against the clutch surfaceof the pulley rim with suilicient pressure to bind said shoesthereagainst and cause the rotation of the pulley when the arms 22 arein motion. This device is a yoke 25 which passes loosely around thepulley hub 2-1 and has two diametrically opposite arms 26 and 27,respectively, the extremity of the arm 26 extending loosely into asocket in one of the blocks 20, and the other block being engaged by aplug 28 litting at one of its ends in a socket in said other one of theblocks 20. The other end of the plug has an axial bore into whichloosely extends the extremity of the arm 27. Between the last-mentionedend of the plug and an abutment v29 on the arm 27 is interposed a spring30, said spring being coiled around the arm, which latter isscrewthreaded to receive t-he abutment 29, the latter being a nut. Byadjusting the abutment nut on the arm 27, the tension of the spring 30may be varied. The shoes 19 are pressed against the pulley rim withequal tension which is readily regulated by adjusting the nut 29.

The driving connection for the clutch shoes is a yielding one, andcomprises the following means: On t-he outer periphery of the ring l5are diametrically opposite lugs 31 in which are loosely mounted, so asto be free to rock therein, spindles 32 each having one of itsproject-ing ends formed with a head or enlargement 33. The spindlesextend parallel to the axis of the shaft l0, and the heads thereof havetransverse openings through which slidably pass rods 34. One of theserods is connected at one of its ends to one of the arms 22, and theother rod is connected at one of its ends to the other arm 22. The arms,at the points where the connections with the rods are made, have lateralbends, at `the terminals of which the connections with the shoe blocks20 are made. On the other ends of the rods are adjustably mountedabutments 35 which are nuts, the rods being screwthreaded to receive thesame. Between these nuts and the heads 33 are located springs 36 thelatter being coiled around the rod. The tension of the springs 3G can bereadily regulated by adjusting the nuts 35 on the rods.

It will be evident from the foregoing that when the ring 15 is driven inthe direction of the arrow a in Fig. l through the pawland-ratchetmechanism, the motion will be transmitted through the rods 34 to thearms 22, and as said arms carry the clutch shoe blocks 20, the pulley 18will be set in motion. The springs 3G form a yielding connection betweenthe ring l5 and therods 34 and take up all jars or jerks due to unevenrunning of the engine, and the motion is therefore transmitted smoothlyand evenly to the separator or other driven element. The rods arelocated on opposite sides of the axis of the mechanism and they pull inopposite directions. If the engine should stop or be reversed, thepawl-and-ratchet mechanism releases the ring 15, the pulley then runsidle and the separator or other driven element continues to run untilits momentum is spent. There is consequently no sudden stoppage of theseparator or other driven element, and the latter slows down graduallyuntil it comes to a stop. The pulley is also provided with a crankhandle which is removably connected thereto. The handle comprises ashank 37 and a grip 38. On one side ofthe shank are lugs 39 and 40having grooves 4l and 42, respectively.

The shank is adapted to be placed against the face of one of the pulleyspokes 43 with one edge of the spoke lit-ting in the groove 4l, and theother edge in the groove 42. rllhe shank has a third lug 44 which is sospaced from the lug 40 that the pulley rim fits snugly between said lugs40 and 44. The innerand outer periphery of the pulley rim are thereforegripped as well as opposite edges of the spoke, in view of which thehandle is rigidly connected when it is operated to turn the pulley inthe direction of the arrow ZD. When operated in the opposite directionit will be released.

I claim:

l. The combination of a driving member, a driven member having a clutchsurface, clutch members engaging said surface, a support to which theclutch members are pivoted, a spring-actuated connection between thefree ends of the clutch members for placing the same in frictionalengagementwith the clutch surface, and a yielding driving connectionbetween the driving' member and the support of the clutch members.

2. The combination of a driving member, a driven member having a clutchsurface, clutch members engaging said surface, a support to which theclutch members are pivoted, a/pair of oppositely extending arms betweenthe free ends of the clutch members, one of said arms engaging one ofsaid niembers, a plug having a bore in one end into which the other armloosely extends, the other end of the plug engaging the other clutchmember, an abut-ment on the lastmentioned arm, a spring between theabutment and the plug, and a driving connection between the drivingmember and the support of the clutch members.

3. The combination of a driving member, a driven member having a clutchsurface, clutch members engageable with said surface, a support to whichthe clutch members are pivoted, rocking spindles carried by the drivingmember, a slide rod carried by each spindle and connected at one of itsends to the support of the clutch members, abutments on the other endsof the rods, and springs between the labut-ments and the spindles.

In testimony whereof l aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER J. MUELLER. lVitnesses:

R. E. STEWART, HENRY A. MULLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, 1). C.

